Apple Working on New Health-Tracking Hardware for 2017

Apple is developing at least one new health-tracking product that could debut alongside the tenth-anniversary iPhone in 2017, according to Economic Daily News (via Mac Otakara).

Exact details are hard to discern from the translated Chinese-language report, but Apple is said to have invested two years of R&D into the new product in it health laboratories overseen by Apple's health and fitness director Jay Blahnik.

While entirely new hardware is possible, the product could realistically be a next-generation Apple Watch. The product is said to have an array of health-related apps that collect data such as heart rate, pulse, and blood sugar changes.

Health and fitness has been a focus for Apple in recent years with ResearchKit, HealthKit, and the Apple Watch. In a recent interview, when asked what he believes the "next frontiers" will be when it comes to product development, Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted health as "the biggest one of all."

Tags: udn.com, health and fitness

Top Rated Comments

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alazhaarp

40 months ago

Uh.. Okay.. But you're still actually working on Macs too right? Right? Riiight?

Rating: 4 Votes

Exile714

40 months ago

Heart rate, pulse, blood sugar...

Heart rate is already well done on Apple Watch.

Pulse... is pretty much a synonym for heart rate.

Blood sugar is a stretch, since companies have been struggling to create an accurate reader which doesn't require actual blood. That alone would be worth the cost of an Apple Watch for diabetic patients.

Rating: 4 Votes

bitslap47

40 months ago

Not just here, but all over, I see the quality of written text when reporting continuing to decline. I guess there is no such thing as a true editor anymore...

Rating: 3 Votes

BMcCoy

40 months ago

If Apple, or anyone else, can figure out noninvasive transcutaneous blood glucose monitoring, that is reliable and precise, that will definitely transform healthcare globally, not just for people with diabetes, but for many other situations where we check blood glucose levels.
I'm not sure how it will be possible.. it would need some new invention of technology.. but wow.. that would be amazing. (And would catapult Apple into the heart of cutting edge healthcare).

Rating: 2 Votes

Sandstorm

40 months ago

Seems like lately everything awesome/innovative from Apple is always a year or two away. We've been hearing about awesome product pipeline, amazing stuff coming, but basically nothing materializes (besides some uninspired existing product rehashes or even plain discontinuations/abandonments).

Rating: 2 Votes

TheShadowKnows!

40 months ago

Most logical explanation: There is a massive pipeline leak. /sarcasm

Rating: 2 Votes

Sunny1990

40 months ago

Will they add blood sugar monitor in to the apple watch if so then this will be really helpful for the diabetes patients to manage their blood sugar levels

Rating: 2 Votes

smizzle

40 months ago

I would love for them to make a regular health tracker that was cheaper than the Apple Watch and just focused on fitness tracking and notifications.

Rating: 1 Votes

now i see it

40 months ago

The pedometer in the iPhone isn't very accurate. To the point that the steps recorded aren't very useful in determining anything. There's a lot of hope surrounding this health app stuff but not too much accuracy.

Rating: 1 Votes